Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Human Resources
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Human Resources

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Follow JHR on Bluesky
Research ArticleArticle
Open Access

The Impact of Health on Labor Supply Near Retirement

Richard Blundell, Jack Britton, Monica Costa Dias and Eric French
Published online before print January 19, 2021, 1217-9240R4; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.58.3.1217-9240R4
Richard Blundell
University College London
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jack Britton
Institute for Fiscal Studies
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Monica Costa Dias
Institute for Fiscal Studies
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Eric French
University College London.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Estimates of how health affects employment vary considerably. We assess how different methods and health measures impact estimates of the impact of health on employment using a unified framework for the US and England. We find that subjective and objective health measures, and subjective measures instrumented by objective measures produce similar estimates when using sufficiently rich objective measures. Moreover, a single health index can capture the relevant health variation for employment. Health deterioration explains up to 15% of the decline in employment between ages 50 and 70. Effects are larger for the US than England, and for the low educated.

Keywords:
  • Health
  • Cognition
  • Labor Supply
  • Retirement
JEL codes:
  • I10
  • J24
  • J26
  • E24

This open access article is distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) and is freely available online at: http://jhr.uwpress.org

Next
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources: 60 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 60, Issue 3
1 May 2025
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Human Resources.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The Impact of Health on Labor Supply Near Retirement
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Human Resources
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Human Resources web site.
Citation Tools
The Impact of Health on Labor Supply Near Retirement
Richard Blundell, Jack Britton, Monica Costa Dias, Eric French
Journal of Human Resources Jan 2021, 1217-9240R4; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.3.1217-9240R4

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
The Impact of Health on Labor Supply Near Retirement
Richard Blundell, Jack Britton, Monica Costa Dias, Eric French
Journal of Human Resources Jan 2021, 1217-9240R4; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.3.1217-9240R4
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Chronic health conditions and health-related economic inactivity in midlife: Evidence from the 1958 and 1970 British birth cohorts
  • The Effects of Increasing the Eligibility Age for Public Pension on Individual Labor Supply: Evidence from Japan
  • Falling employment and worsening health in the UK: connected or distinct trends?
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Careers and Mismatch for College Graduates
  • The Impact of Prior Learning Assessments on College Completion and Financial Outcomes
  • How Far Is Too Far?
Show more Article

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • health
  • Cognition
  • labor supply
  • retirement
  • I10
  • J24
  • J26
  • E24
UW Press logo

© 2025 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire